Interesting Vehicle

[gary_bath_jr]

So a friend of mine posted some pictures on Facebook of a vehicle he just bought, it sure looks like an M37 however the data plates show M152 CDN Truck Panel Utility 3/4 Ton exactly like my data plate however mine looks like a Truck Panel Utility. Even our model # is the same T249, I will post a pic os his truck and mine and my data plates.

Gary

[Yeo.NT]

Dodge mounted their data plates on the glove box door, this could be simply a case of mixed parts to build one vehicle.

[rob love]

As Neil mentioned, the data plate does not belong to that vehicle. This is further evidenced by the 1952 date in the CFR and the 1954 date on the data plate.

I believe the model number refers to the engine model. In the case of Canadian trucks, we ran the larger 251 flathead 6 compared to the US model 230 which was a T245.

[gary_bath_jr]

Hey Rob

The data plate shown is from my truck I do not have a picture of his plate yet but will post it as soon as I get it.

BTW is the CFR the number painted on the door? if so mine is 54-45212, oddly enough it is on the inside of the doors, as you can see in the picture the last person that owned my truck attacked it with a sander and let it sit and rust.

Gary

[rob love]

During the 50s and thru the 60s, the military vehicles (including trailers) used provincial license plates which bore on resemblance to the CFR. The marking regulations from the 50s stated that the CFR would be on the doors of vehicles with hard doors, and gave alternate locations for things like Jeeps and motorcycles where the doors were not an option. DND license plates came out in the late 60s I believe.

The number inside the doors is a little odd. Often it would be on the dash somewhere which made filling out paperwork like trip tickets easier. The CFR is also usually stamped on the front left frame rail. If the frame number does not match the CFR number on the body, then there are a number of possibilities. I had a Dodge which had a replacement frame installed in service, so no stamping was present but the NSN was visible on the frame.

[gary_bath_jr]

Thanks Rob, I will go check the frame as soon as I can, do I need to remove anything or should I be able to see it on the frame easily?

I have attached pictures of the location of my CFR, as you said there is one on the dash but it is also on both doors, in the pic of the door you can see Front and Rear, these are on both doors.

Gary

[rob love]

My guess is someone got carried away with their stencil. Kids and spraycans.....

The number will be right on the top maybe back an inch or two or three from the bumper. The only thing you may have to remove will be a couple layers of paint to see it. Sandpaper will usually work well . Normally the - in the CFR will be a sideways 1.

[gary_bath_jr]

So I just checked the frame and the CFR there is the same as the one on the door and dash, good to know they all match, now I will post it in the CFR thread and see what info can be found.

Gary

[rob love]

Most likely none. The data is only there for vehicles which were still in service from 1978. The majority of the Dodges left service the year before that.

[gary_bath_jr]

Hey Rob

Is there any way of getting info for vehicles pre 1978? The only thing I know about this truck is that my uncle bought it at an estate auction in AB.

Also is anyone creating a database for CMP's etc to keep track of locations and owners and vehicle type?

Thanks for your help.

Gary

[rob love]

There is no way to find pre-78 vehicles. I checked your CFR and it was reassigned in 2000 or so to a forklift. There was likely no data in the computer anyway since your vehicle pre-dated the loomis record system (I believe).

About the only way you will find any information is either through careful paint removal to find unit markings, or else by chance such as unit photos showing the CFR on the vehicle. Perhaps visit some of the unit museums that are in the area of the truck you bought and look through their old photo albums.

Peter Ford from Saskatoon was once keeping a CMP data bank with owners, models, serial numbers etc. It was available to people on a subscription basis. But I believe the upkeep of the data died with Peter. Quite frankly, I believe that so many of these trucks still exist, or are waiting to be found, that a data bank would be a large and long going undertaking.

[DenisLutman]

If I am not mistaken, the Dodge trucks like that with the small windows at the top on the sides were radio trucks and they are pretty rare.

This one was on eBay in Canada recently.
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/1955-Doge-Pow...item51d6de4895

From the description:
"The M152 Panel Truck is a member of the M-37 Dodge 3/4 ton 4x4 Truck Family (G-741).

The panel truck version of the M37 was called the XM152 by the U.S. military, using the X prefix since it was not made standard. The M152CDN panel truck was a variant of the XM152 panel truck, made for the Canadian Army in 1954-55. It was standardized, but only about 1000 were produced.

The M152 was based on the M43 Ambulance, but with changes such as sliding side doors, single or double rear doors, side windows, etc. There were small differences between the XM152 pilot models (five built in various configurations) and the M152CDN, the only production vehicle with side windows.

[DenisLutman]

A guy here in town has one of these radio trucks in his collection, and uses it to deliver beer. A worthy cause!
The pics here should have gone with the eBay link I'd posted. Still getting used to being able to actually post pics instead of links!

[gary_bath_jr]

So I heard back from my friend and he said that the glove box looks like it was replaced as it is a different colour so it looks like we were all right.

Gary

P.S. I told him about the forum so hopefully he will signup soon.